The 50 smartest public high schools in...

The 50 smartest public high schools in America

Despite popular belief, the best high school education doesn’t always come from a private school. In fact, several of America’s best public high schools offer top-level academics — without the five-figure tuition cost.

Niche ranked the schools’ academics by key factors like graduation rates, performance on SAT/ACT and AP tests, and student and parent reviews for 23,861 public high schools across the US (Read the full methodology here).

Read on for the 50 smartest public high schools in America.

50. Monta Vista High SchoolWikimedia Commons

Location: Cupertino, California

Average SAT score: 2130

AP test pass rate: 87.2%

“Very hard academics in terms of teacher standards, so that inevitably pushes you to become a better student,” said one alum.

“There is a very huge presence of AP/honors classes, and a huge student-preference towards math and science-type classes,” commented another.

49. Carroll Senior High SchoolGoogle Maps

Location: Southlake, Texas

Average SAT score: 1940

AP test pass rate: N/A

“Carroll is academically challenging at first but you get used to the workload,” said one Niche user. “There are a lot of different elective options and its pretty common to get all the classes you want.”

48. Indian Hill High SchoolIndian Hill Schools

Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

Average SAT score: 1920

AP test pass rate: 83.2%

Many Indian Hill students complimented the school’s educators. “The teachers are amazing. Our counselors are always available to help us whenever a problem arises: teacher conflicts, schedules, or just general problems,” said a senior.